Rhi Reynolds

Last week, I expressed my excitement for the 2014 Crossfit Open. These first two workouts were full of movements that I love and am comfortable with. They were also deceivingly hard. I couldn’t wait for the first workout to start because I have gotten so much stronger than last year. But in order to build this great strength base I now have, I had to leave out the most important component of Crossfit…conditioning. Since Olympic weightlifting is my top priority, that’s where my strengths lie. 14.1 and 14.2 both had major strengths for me, but clearly I haven’t been doing them in high repetition. The closest I have been to doing high rep Olympic lifting has been some barbell complexes…which usually leave me gassed since my first rep starts at 80% of max. I admit it, my conditioning isn’t so good…but only for now. Obviously, I didn’t sign up for the 2014 Open thinking I have adequate conditioning to hang with the many amazing girls in the North East region. Yet without the strength I have, the weights in these workouts wouldn’t feel so easy. It’s sort of a double-edged sword, because my strength is now nothing unless the workout calls to build up to a 1RM. Although somewhat frustrating, it is also motivating. I’m already looking at the future. Now that I have the strength, the only thing is to get stronger and add conditioning later this year, a few months before next years Open. I can’t wait to work on my Crossfit skills for 2015.

Training update: Aside from the weaknesses I’ve noticed so far in the Open, I’ve also been rapidly getting stronger with my lifts. Within the last two weeks, I’ve hit a PR in both lifts. This again has motivated me to attempt bigger weights, which are so close! I still stick to the 3 miss rule. The weights are getting pretty serious…and it’s an adventure living under them.